Jer 16:19-17:14 | NASB2020 | STEP | Lord , my strength and my stronghold , And my refuge in the day of distress , To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say , “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood , Futility , and things of no benefit .”

Jeremiah 16:19-21

19 Lord, my ^astrength and my stronghold,
And my ^brefuge in the day of distress,
To You the ^cnations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but ^dfalsehood,
Futility, and ^{▼▼Lit there is nothing profitable in them
,} ^fthings of no benefit.”
20 Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are ^gnot gods!

21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know--
This time I will ^hmake them know
My ^{▼▼Lit hand}power and My might;
And they will ^jknow that My name is the Lord.”

Jeremiah 17:1-14

The Deceitful Heart

1 The ^ksin of Judah is written with an ^liron stylus;
With a diamond point it is ^mengraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of ^{▼▼As in ancient versions; MT your}their altars,
2 As they remember their ^ochildren,
So they remember their altars and their ^{▼▼I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
,} ^qAsherim
By ^rgreen trees on the high hills.
3 ^sMountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will ^tturn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, ^ulet go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your ^venemies
In the ^wland which you do not know;
For you have ^xkindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.

5 This is what the Lord says:
“ ^yCursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes ^zflesh his ^{▼▼Lit arm}strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a ^abbush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A ^acland of salt that is not inhabited.
7 “ ^adBlessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose ^aetrust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a ^aftree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of ^agdrought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

9 “The ^ahheart is more ^aideceitful than all else
And is desperately ^ajsick;
Who can understand it?
10 “I, the Lord, ^aksearch the heart,
I test the ^{▼▼Lit kidneys}mind,
^amTo give to each person according to his ways,
According to the ^{▼▼Lit fruit}results of his deeds.
11 “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who ^aomakes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in ^{▼▼Lit his}the end he will be a ^aqfool.”

12 ^arA glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, the ^ashope of Israel,
All who ^atabandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn ^{▼▼Lit away from Me}away on earth will be ^avwritten down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
14 ^awHeal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
^axSave me and I will be saved,
For You are my ^aypraise.